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Agents raid Sarasota-based shipping company

Federal and state agents raided a warehouse operated by Sarasota-based shipping company MyUS.com on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO / SHANNON McFARLAND

SHANNON McFARLAND

Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 10:58 p.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY - A host of federal and Florida law enforcement agents raided a warehouse of a Sarasota-based, multimillion-dollar international shipping company Thursday.

The company, MyUS.com, has been among the fastest-growing companies in the country for several years, attracting awards and receiving a “substantial” infusion of private capital last September.

There are few details about the federal search warrant, which is sealed and part of an ongoing investigation. Agents drove a caravan of cars, trucks and trailers through the entrance of the warehouse facility, which is fenced off with barbed-wire edges.

“There is very little I can say,” said Carissa Cutrell, a spokeswoman for a Florida office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Agents set up tables and a tent related to export enforcement.

The operation involves federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Commerce and Customs and Border Protection. It also includes state and local agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, with support from Lakeland Police Department and Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

Eric Baird, the chief executive officer, said agents spoke with him before coming to the warehouse for the warrant, but have not given him details about the investigation.

“They haven't given us all that information yet, we just have to respect and cooperate with them,” Baird said. “We have nothing to hide.”

In the meantime, MyUS.com will continue exporting American products that other companies will not ship, he said.

“Of course it is safe to do business with us, that's a silly question,” Baird said.

He said the company inspects items to ensure they can legally forward the packages for international corporations, foreign nationals and expatriates, including specialty items that cannot be bought or shipped to certain counties. Shipping packages over international borders to over 200 countries, the company keeps a list of items it cannot ship, may cause problems or require an import license. The list ranges from living animals to perishable foods to weapons. It does not ship to certain countries: Myanmar, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Sudan and Iran.

The company started in 1996, and by 2004 had moved to a warehouse full of mailboxes and customer queues. By 2007, its sales increased to $15.5 million, landing MyUS.com on the Inc. magazine's 5,000 list of fast-growing companies nationwide. The company became the official international shipper for Bealls, the Florida-based department store chain.

The company's revenue had reached $48 million dollars in 2011, as last self-reported to Inc. magazine.

Baird was named the 2009 Entrepreneurship of the Year by Business Observer, for the business he started with a loan from his mother. Former Gov. Charlie Crist named MyUS.com the Florida Governor's Business Diversification Award for Export Excellence.

The company now has 105 employees. Last fall, Palm Beach Capital, a private equity firm based in West Palm Beach; Logisticap Partners, a fundless sponsor based in Ponte Vedra Beach; and others made an unspecified “game-changing” investment in the booming business. With investments in 36 companies, Palm Beach Capital had $325 million in assets under management at the time. Logisticap Partners made four deals last year with a combined enterprise value of more than $300 million.

<p><em>SARASOTA COUNTY</em> - A host of federal and Florida law enforcement agents raided a warehouse of a Sarasota-based, multimillion-dollar international shipping company Thursday.</p><p>The company, MyUS.com, has been among the fastest-growing companies in the country for several years, attracting awards and receiving a “substantial” infusion of private capital last September.</p><p>There are few details about the federal search warrant, which is sealed and part of an ongoing investigation. Agents drove a caravan of cars, trucks and trailers through the entrance of the warehouse facility, which is fenced off with barbed-wire edges. </p><p>“There is very little I can say,” said Carissa Cutrell, a spokeswoman for a Florida office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Agents set up tables and a tent related to export enforcement.</p><p>The operation involves federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Commerce and Customs and Border Protection. It also includes state and local agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, with support from Lakeland Police Department and Brevard County Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Eric Baird, the chief executive officer, said agents spoke with him before coming to the warehouse for the warrant, but have not given him details about the investigation.</p><p>“They haven't given us all that information yet, we just have to respect and cooperate with them,” Baird said. “We have nothing to hide.”</p><p>In the meantime, MyUS.com will continue exporting American products that other companies will not ship, he said. </p><p>“Of course it is safe to do business with us, that's a silly question,” Baird said.</p><p>He said the company inspects items to ensure they can legally forward the packages for international corporations, foreign nationals and expatriates, including specialty items that cannot be bought or shipped to certain counties. Shipping packages over international borders to over 200 countries, the company keeps a list of items it cannot ship, may cause problems or require an import license. The list ranges from living animals to perishable foods to weapons. It does not ship to certain countries: Myanmar, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Sudan and Iran.</p><p>The company started in 1996, and by 2004 had moved to a warehouse full of mailboxes and customer queues. By 2007, its sales increased to $15.5 million, landing MyUS.com on the Inc. magazine's 5,000 list of fast-growing companies nationwide. The company became the official international shipper for Bealls, the Florida-based department store chain.</p><p>The company's revenue had reached $48 million dollars in 2011, as last self-reported to Inc. magazine.</p><p>Baird was named the 2009 Entrepreneurship of the Year by Business Observer, for the business he started with a loan from his mother. Former Gov. Charlie Crist named MyUS.com the Florida Governor's Business Diversification Award for Export Excellence.</p><p>The company now has 105 employees. Last fall, Palm Beach Capital, a private equity firm based in West Palm Beach; Logisticap Partners, a fundless sponsor based in Ponte Vedra Beach; and others made an unspecified “game-changing” investment in the booming business. With investments in 36 companies, Palm Beach Capital had $325 million in assets under management at the time. Logisticap Partners made four deals last year with a combined enterprise value of more than $300 million.</p>